Two Durango residents who illegally entered and disturbed a cultural site in Canyonlands National Park will pay a combined $1,550 in restitution and fines, and are barred from visiting federal public lands in Utah for one year.
Roxanne McKnight, 39, and Dusty Spencer, 43, pleaded guilty in Utah District Court last month to possessing or distributing cultural or archaeological resources, and walking on or entering an archaeological or cultural resource. Both had faced a third, more serious charge – theft of government property valued at less than $1,000 – which was dismissed.
All charges to which the two pleaded guilty are Class B misdemeanors.
McKnight will pay $450 restitution to the National Park Service and a $400 fine, according to a March 11 sentence issued by a federal magistrate judge. Spencer will pay $450 in restitution to the NPS and a $250 fine. Neither may enter federal public lands in Utah for one year, with an exception carved out for “necessary travel.”
Footage caught by a trail camera on March 23, 2024, showed the pair entering an area with “closed” signs at Cave Spring Cowboy Camp in the Needles District of Canyonlands in southeastern Utah. Federal prosecutors alleged McKnight and Spencer removed artifacts from a cabinet and handled historic harnesses “in a manner that had potential to damage them.”
The NPS in May requested help from the public in identifying McKnight and Spencer, and the two were charged Nov. 1.
McKnight, in an interview with The Durango Herald on Thursday, acknowledged that she and Spencer had entered an area they should not have, but said there were “no clear signs” indicating a closure.
The video of the incident supported McKnight’s recollection that no artifacts were removed from the site, she said, acknowledging that items were “disturbed” but not “damaged or destroyed.”
Spencer could not be reached for comment, and McKnight declined to help the Herald contact him, noting, “he’s not going to say anything.”
“I'm going to keep learning,” McKnight said of her own path forward. “I think I’m just going to slow down a little bit more and look at where I'm entering and see if that's allowed or not.”
rschafir@durangoherald.com
